British firms relocating to Ireland, more to follow - Irish minister

LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Some British-based financial services firms have already decided to relocate at least part of their operations to Ireland, and others are expected to follow suit in the first half of this year, Ireland's financial services minister said on Tuesday.

Speaking at an event hosted by the London Irish Business Society, Eoghan Murphy said the clear signal that Britain will trigger divorce negotiations from the EU at the end of March had been the catalyst for these moves.

"With the time horizon we now have around Article 50, some decisions have already been made for relocation," Murphy said, declining to name the companies, or give a number. "We are expecting for some parts of the industry for decisions to be made in Q1 and Q2."

Barclays is preparing to make Dublin its EU headquarters when Britain leaves the European Union, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

Murphy added that after the two years of formal Brexit talks conclude, he expected there would need to be at least a five-year transitional agreement between the EU and Britain before a complete divorce could take effect. (Reporting by John Geddie, editing by David Milliken)